There are flowers enough in the summertime,More flowers than I can remember—But none with the purple, gold, and redThat dyes the flowers of September!—Mary Howitt (1799-1888)

Important dates in September:

September 15 New Moon in Scorpio 10:11pm EST

September 22 - Autumnal Equinox 10:49am EST This marks the first day of Fall here in the Northern Hemisphere. From here on out, the temperatures begin to drop and the days start to get shorter than the nights. It is also known as the pagan celebration "Herfest" in some circles.

September 23 - Sun moves into Libra (from Leo)

September 29th - Full Harverst Moon in Aries. The name "Harvest Moon" is given to the Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox. There will be both Aries and Pisces energy, as the Moon moves into Aries from Pisces at 9:15am, the Moon is Full at 11:59pm EST.

Find out what your local farmers are growing right now with the handy guide at www.pickyourown.org - scroll all the way to the bottom of the page (it’s laid out a little funny.)

Noted astrologer Sarah Varcas gives a great overview of the astrological landscape for September on her blog.

For me, September is about transition. It is in September that summer moves into fall. The days and nights transition into their new dance, children are heading to school, and the plants are going to seed. So be kind with yourself during these ever-changing days. Let your own transitions be joyful and smooth. We don't have to have it all figured out right now. We can find our way slowly to our answers.

Today is the second full moon of August - the Blue Moon, in sign Pisces. Pisces is the sign of water and fluidity and full moons represent the opportunity to uncover deep truths and sacred knowing that we have somehow lost on our path.

To honor the sister moon at her fullest and to work with the energy for your greater good, commune with water today. Let your psyche and unconscious be fluid and open like the ocean, so that deeper truths can float to the surface. Once they arise, notice them. You don't need to do anything with them. This is an opportunity for insight, not necessarily action. The real work is uncovering your deep and hidden self-wisdom.

I invite you to embrace a Full Moon Visualization today or in the next few days, when the full moon energy is at its highest. It's simple, yet powerful and will support your opening up to personal truth. You can do this before sleep, during meditation or just when you have a moment to rest quietly. If you can make time to be in water, a bath or swim outside, that would be beautiful. You can also work with a friend, taking turns reading the visualization to each other.

FULL BLUE-MOON VISUALIZATION

Close your eyes and picture a body of water that soothes you - the spaciousness of the ocean, a woodland stream running over rocks, a quiet pond or perhaps rain falling softly in a puddle.

Bring that body of water into your mind, imagine your thoughts swimming gently in it, all together.

Touch down on some of those thoughts - what is arising? Just notice. There is nothing to do here.

After touching down and noticing each thought, no matter how big or small, let each thought float down below the surface, until you are no longer able to see it.

Let your mind become calm like an untouched surface of a pond. No ripples, no current. Just the smooth, mirror like calm of the water's surface.

It feels peaceful and still. The calm of water envelops your entire body and you are floating inside the fluidity. There is nothing to do here except just be.

It is here in this place of just being, that you open yourself up to deeper knowing. As the water supports you, simply state to yourself "I am open to my sacred truths".

And then float. The mind is fluid. Small thoughts may intrude the surface of your mind, but the water helps them float back away.

And then, perhaps in that stillness, truths emerge - as symbols, words, pictures or even colors. Whose to say what form your sacred knowing takes in this magical space of the mind?

New Moons are the bottom of the exhale - we empty and release to create space for the work, love and dreaming in the weeks to come, until the next Full Moon.

This breathing meditation will help you let go of on-the-surface emotions that need releasing - the kind of thoughts that don't serve us and yet seem to be just below the skin, ready to erupt and create unneeded road blocks to our deeper work. This could be small fears, minor irritations or unknown anxieties.

Let these go and step into your full power with lion's breath:

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Find a comfortable place to sit or stand.

Rest your fingertips on your shoulders (right on right, left on left)

Let your shoulders sink down the back.

Take a deep inhale, from the belly all the way to the heart center.

Pause a moment.

Open you mouth and stick out your tongue (go ahead, no ones looking)

Release your exhale through the mouth with an Aaaahhhhhh! sound, dropping your chin to your chest.

Each time your exhale: allow your gaze to look up and to the center of your brow, somewhat crossed eyed. Also draw your elbows back behind you.

Practice this breath 10x. Let the chin lift proudly on the inhale and release to the chest on the exhale.

Make some noise: Get louder with each exhale and lose your self-consciousness. Feel your pride.

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Enjoy the lengthening of the neck, the lifting of the heart and the full release.

Create the space you need to go to your depths and reach past the surface into the soul level.

With the Full Moon in Aquarius on August 2, 2012, we have the opportunity as women to cultivate the freedom to feel more, experience more and embrace more, all without doing more. This energy allows for more space in the heart and soul. We don't want to fill that space with tasks and goals, but rather embrace this dual fullness/emptiness so that our intuition can breath. In and out, fully and freely, so that when the time comes for action, your soul is led by intuition - one of our most sacred guides.

Here is a simple breathing meditation to embrace the fullness of your heart's open space.

FULL MOON MEDITATION AUGUST

Find a quiet space to lie or sit comfortably.

Place your right hand on your abdomen.

Place your left hand over your heart.

Breathing through your nostrils,

Start your next inhale deep in the belly.

Draw the inhale up through the diaphram and lower lungs,

Up all the way into the chest and heart center.

On the exhale, let the breath travel back down,

Through the heart center, the lungs and ending in the belly.

Draw your belly button in towards your spine slightly,

Until the exhale is completely released.

Continue with the breath,

visualizing open space on the inhale,

and open space on the exhale.

Reflection: What does open space feel like? Does it feel or look differently on the inhale and exhale?

Automatic Writing Prompt: At the top of a piece of paper, write "EMBRACING FREEDOM" and let the words flow without editing, for at least 5 minutes.

Let each exhale, which is purposely longer than the inhale, to release all that does not serve you.

So many of us just take in more and more and more, to a bursting or breaking point.

The longer exhale creates space to release and let go.

Continue with this breathing for several minutes or as long as needed.

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The New Moon is a wonderful time to sit with what is and also empty what we don't need. As the moon begins to wax again, we start to make our plans, form our goals and take in more as we move towards the Full Moon. The New Moon moment is the bottom of the exhale, the center of the ripple in the pond. For me, it is the pause. X.Aja

The moon is in Aries until Thursday morning. I confess to getting a little excited when the moon is in a fire sign (my sun and moon is in Sagittarius) so I have an affinity for those brightly burning signs. I always feel a pep in my step when sister moon visits those fire signs. Ah, but fire can burn hard and fast - so I always pay close attention to the energies all around.

Moon in Aires accesses our fire; temper, impatience and passions run high. We feel an urgency to get back on track, re-center in our selves, but can lose our empathy. It's time to do what truly makes us feel alive, to initiate projects and set boundaries, but we must buffer our tempers.

Tonight is the May Full Moon, a SUPER moon, meaning the moon is at its closest to earth and will appear extremely large. With the moon being so close, we may feel its energies more intensely than usual. With sister moon in Scorpio, our moon musings for today offer up insight into our relationship with mystery, the unknown and our sense of control:

:: What is your relationship to the things you can't control in your life?

New Moons offer fertile ground to help us sow new seeds and manifest our innermost goals. Today's New Moon in Taurus offers us stable and grounded energy to connect with. Manifest with the moon by meditating, journaling or simply taking some time to think on the Moon Musing for today:

What aspects of my life are most stable and grounded right now?

Which areas of my life need my thoughtful, unhurried attention?

What are some small, practical ways I can find everyday contentment?

Enjoy the energy today. Give yourself a moment of good Taurus vibes, being content or going about a practical household chore with deliberate and careful attention, turning it into a meditation...an offering.

"The Libra Full Moon (17 Lib 23) makes a wide conjunction to Saturn, illuminating the lessons and opportunities Saturn is bringing during his three-year transit of the sign of the scales from 2009-2012. Full Moons always bring something to culmination or bring a process that has been operating behind the scenes into conscious awareness. This Full Moon makes minor hard aspects to Libra’s ruling planet Venus (in Gemini all month long) and to Neptune in Pisces. The Tarot card that jumps to mind here is the Seven of Cups. We might feel as if we have too many choices and don’t know which one to make. When in doubt, choose the Saturnian path of duty and mastery. It’s OK to have your fantasies, just keep doing the work."

...too many choices. Yes. I can feel that right now. That Libra energy is telling me that all the choices are all worthy and wonderful, and that is a beautiful thing, but also a challenge, within Libra energy. There is virtue in weighing out our choices and seeing the best in everything and exploring all the possibilities. But this can also hold us back from making decisions that serve us. So now, when the full moon offers us up wisdom from our consciousness, I believe that is a good place to start from when making these decisions. Our gut, intution and inner consciousness are all out on display during the Full Moon - that is why Full Moons are so nutty! To that I say embrace it! Make it your own and let it serve you. Sometimes our nuttiness is full of ripe and delicate morsels of wisdom.